A precision engineering firm is to shed 440 jobs worldwide, with most of the redundancies coming from its Gloucestershire heartland.

Renishaw, whose HQ is in Wotton-under-Edge, said 308 of the redundancies would be within the county with a further 12 still at risk.

The firm which has expertise in spectroscopy, neurology and motion control, hopes to re-employ some staff at a later date and is maintaining a database.

Renishaw said sales were hit by the fall in demand for capital goods in sectors like car manufacture.

It employs 2,240 people around the world with most of its 1,500 UK workers based at four sites in Gloucestershire.

The firm also has small facilities in Castle Donington, Exeter, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.

Redundancy figures for those areas have yet to be confirmed.

Sir David McMurtry, chairman and chief executive, said today that the period since January this year was “the worst chapter in Renishaw’s long and successful history.”

The company faced expected losses of around £10 million for the second half of the financial year, forcing the “painful” redundancies, he said.

Workers were put onto on a four-day week in February. Sir David added: “We now have to move forward and build on the positive strengths that remain within the business, from our excellent portfolio of products, including the exciting developments in the dental and medical sectors, our world recognised manufacturing capabilities and our global strength in customer support.

“In this we will continue to provide clear and open communications to our staff.”